Which condition often results from a vitamin D deficiency?

Vitamin D deficiency frequently results in rickets, which is a condition characterized by the weakening and softening of bones in children. This occurs because vitamin D plays a critical role in calcium and phosphate metabolism, essential for bone health. Inadequate vitamin D levels lead to insufficient absorption of these minerals from the diet, leading to poorly mineralized bones.

Rickets manifests primarily in growing children and can cause symptoms such as delayed growth, pain in the bones and joints, and deformities like bowed legs or a curved spine. Ensuring adequate vitamin D intake through diet, sunlight exposure, or supplementation is important in preventing this condition.

Other conditions mentioned, such as scurvy, pellagra, and beriberi, are related to deficiencies of different vitamins: scurvy arises from a lack of vitamin C, pellagra is due to niacin deficiency, and beriberi is associated with thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency. These conditions have distinct pathophysiological mechanisms and clinical manifestations that are unrelated to vitamin D deficiency.